MF Global clients set for further delay as empire’s sell-off begins November 7, 2011 NEARLY two-thirds of positions from the British unit of MF Global were still open yesterday, a week after it filed for bankruptcy protection, sparking frustration about delays in moving business to new brokers. UK administrators KPMG said 954,000 positions were open out of the 1.6m in place when MF Global Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection [...]
Spanish bank in capital warning November 7, 2011 Banco de Valencia, Spain’s smallest listed bank, warned its plan to increase its capital by €60m (£51m) may be insufficient. Following a routine inspection by the Bank of Spain, Banco de Valencia said it had shareholder approval to hike capital by up to 50 per cent if needed. That would imply about €200m. Trading in [...]
Jefferies halves its EU exposure November 7, 2011 JEFFERIES has cut its holdings of European sovereign debts by nearly half in the past week, in a move to dispel fears over its exposure to the region. The US investment bank has slashed its long and short positions in the sovereign debt of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain by $1.1bn each since Friday, [...]
Victory in battle to bring renminbi market to City November 7, 2011 EXCLUSIVE THE CITY has taken a major step towards becoming the first offshore trading centre for the Chinese renminbi after the FSA began work on loosening up regulations for Chinese banks, City A.M. can reveal. Following moves by HM Treasury (HMT) to push the issue up the agenda, the FSA has kicked off due diligence [...]
Turmoil hits Lansdowne as hedgies falter November 7, 2011 MORE evidence of the struggles of the hedge fund industry has emerged as Lansdowne Partners admitted recording losses of up to 20 per cent at two of its key funds. Lansdowne, which manages $13.3bn (£8.31bn) and is one of many City institutions to have hired Tony Blair after he left Downing Street, has been caught [...]
Man hires former MTV boss for China venture November 7, 2011 A FORMER executive at MTV will help Man Group spearhead its push into China. The hedge fund yesterday appointed Yifei Li as country chair for China. She will work with Pierre Lagrange, the star trader who was recently named chairman of Man Asia. Man Group has long wished to grow in the East and is [...]
Rivals Hintze and Odey rise despite gloom November 7, 2011 BIG name managers such as Crispin Odey and Michael Hintze have bucked the autumn gloom in hedge funds by making gains amid hopes Eurozone leaders are finally tackling the debt crisis. Odey Asset Management, one of Europe’s biggest hedge fund firms, saw its European fund, run by founder Crispin Odey, gain 9.1 per cent in October, [...]
Gloom on the high street as sales drop November 7, 2011 A WEAK end to the year looms for British shops, after consumer spending dropped in October. Spending was down 0.9 per cent last month compared to September, according to a report published this morning by Visa. Compared to October 2010, spending on Visa cards plummeted by 1.9 per cent. And retailers fear a bleak Christmas [...]
CITY VIEWS: WILL RETAILERS SEE LOWER SALES THIS CHRISTMAS? November 7, 2011 PAUL CLAYTON | JRP UNDERWRITING “There must be a lot of pressure on people this Christmas, but personally this won’t affect what I buy. There is no doubt the retail industry is suffering, though.” PETER GODFREY | LLOYD’S OF LONDON “People will always try to find spare cash over Christmas, but with the state the [...]
Vicars in the boardroom to check pay November 7, 2011 CLERGY from St Paul’s want to go into City boardrooms to lobby directors about the gap between the rich and the poor. The Right Rev Peter Selby said he wanted to use the publication of a report – delayed because of the furore over the Occupy LSX protests – to debate “appropriate” levels of pay [...]
